Edie Ramer's Blog, page 14

Wednesday’s Cat Video

On my Monday  ’blog plan’ post, I said some days I’d just throw up a cat video. I didn’t know it would come so soon. But my husband was off work and we kayaked this morning. I was busy this afternoon with ISBNs and formatting. AKA, stuff that is not fun. I actually forgot that I was blogging on Wednesdays until I saw Liz Kreger’s blog today. So, since I was busy tonight (watching So You Think You Can Dance) and then whipping through my emails, I only have time to squeeze in a cat video. Enjoy!

The Blog Plan

While being being chained to the keyboard for about 12 hours a day, starting in March (hubby will tell you that’s only a slight exaggeration), I published a novella and a book from my new Miracle Interrupted series, with a new novella and my first print book on the way. While I’m waiting for the edits for MIRACLE LANE (the third Miracle Interrupted story), I’m doing odds and ends. I’ve read a few books and shopped for household items. (Hubby might be re-thinking his wish to drag me away from the computer.) We’ve gone to movies and out to eat. We’re expecting my sister and brother-in-law next week. They’ll be staying for 8 days, so cleaning is on my to-do list. While they’re visiting, we’re having a big family get-together at our house.

But writing is my joy. I’ve loosely plotted two new books for my Miracle Interrupted series, and I already love the characters. For the next book, I’ve gotten technical advice from the fabulous Gina Black and the incredible Sheila Clover English (from Circle of Seven Productions). I probably won’t start this book for a couple of weeks, but I’m so eager. I’ve already written some of the dialogue for the first book and the beginning for the following book. I know what (and who) the main characters look like.

Meanwhile, I’ve decided to stop neglecting my blog. My critique partner and good friend Liz Kreger (my road trip buddy!), writes her blog three times a week, even though she works full time, has a social life and a family that includes a young daughter. Plus she’s been fighting the Big C for years. Oh yeah, and she writes. Beautifully.

If she can do all that, I should be able to keep a blog schedule. I’m going to shoot for 3 days a week. Like Liz (my role model), I’ll blog Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Liz has a plan for hers, but she’s much more organized than I am. (When we share a room on our road trips and I can’t remember where I put something, she’ll often know where it is. Not like my husband, who’s as messy as I am.)

So, here’s my plan. Some days I might just do outtakes or teasers from my books. (I can do that!) Other days, if I have nothing else, I might post a cartoon or a video – and I promise they won’t all be cat videos. In fact, here’s a funny video I discovered while researching my next book. It’s only one minute thirty-two seconds. It’s called Cooking with Ginger – Golden Retriever bakes a cake. (And, yes, this was real research. I suffer for my books.)

So, that’s my summer: past, present and future. How is your summer going?

Stars Aligned

My stars must be aligned. It turned out to be an excellent week. STARDUST MIRACLE got a 5-paw review at Melissa’s Mochas, Mysteries and More. I’ve been busy writing my next book, and haven’t had time for a lot of promoting. I only sent STARDUST to a few reviewers, so I’m happy. STARDUST MIRACLE is the Book of the Day at David Wisehart’s Kindle Author this weekend, too.

My feature this week at KotC with STARDUST MIRACLE is over. KotC is part of The Cheap network, which has the most indie author friendly places online. Though the K in KotC is for Kindle, I had a nice bump in sales at Barnes & Noble too.

If you like free books, both KotC and Kindle Authors list them.

My last good news is that I finished my next Miracle Interrupted novella, MIRACLE LANE, and the first revision. It turned out to be 34,500 words, which is 135 pages. Every story in the series so far is different. I don’t plan it; that’s just the way it turns out. A beta reader is reading it. I’ll send it to my editor either tomorrow or Monday.

So, how are are things going for you?

Busy

I’m busy today. I’m the featured author of the week at KotC, and they’re showcasing STARDUST MIRACLE. KotC is an offshoot page of the very popular the Cheap, and showcases Kindle and Kindle Fire Deals. It’s a great place for readers and writers.

I also interview Michael Zapp at The How To Write Shop. Michael is my formatter, but he also designs software so people can do their own format easily, and he can publish your books on Apple. If you’re interested, read the article. Bestselling author Michael A. Stackpole, who uses Michael’s software, the Legend Maker, sent me a testimonial that I have in my article too.

I’m also at Magical Musings, talking about my love for book reviewers.

And Bunheads is on tonight! My new favorite TV show. I hope you’re having a great start to your week too.

Workshop cats?

Yesterday I sent the free coupon code for my latest book, STARDUST MIRACLE, to quite a few readers. In my email, I mentioned my novella in the Miracle Interrupted series by title. I looked over it a couple times for errors, didn’t see any, and hit send. Last night I heard from one of the readers. Instead of giving the novella title MUST WORSHIP CATS, I said it was MUST WORKSHOP CATS.

The reader who told me thought it was funny, but I’ve got to be honest. My cat would not approve. Good thing she doesn’t read.

Good news!

I’ve been super busy. My book STARDUST MIRACLE is out now. I’m blogging about it at the lovely Delilah Devlin’s blog, and giving away a copy of Stardust Miracle to a commenter. All you have to do is say what you’d do if caught your husband/wife/love in a compromising position with another man or woman.

I’m also part of the Book Lovers Buffet with DEAD PEOPLE and DEAD PEOPLE IN LOVE. The buffet has links for more than 150 eBooks at 99 cents in different genres.

I’m busy writing my next book, tentatively titled MIRACLE LANE. I’m hoping to finish the first draft. I owe free books to readers who wrote reviews and let me know. If you’re one of them, I promise to get this out to you this week. My cat has been sick, and she just came home from the vet today, so I’m in a very good mood.

Right now life is good for me. How is it for you?

Must Worship Cats – not just for cat lovers

MUST WORSHIP CATS is out now! It’s the first story from my new series, Miracle Interrupted. MUST WORSHIP CATS is a novella, 26,000 words. Here’s my cover!

MUST WORSHIP CATS introduces the Village of Miracle. It’s the only book in the series (as far as I’ve planned) that will be entirely in an animal’s point of view. Here’s the description and the excerpt:

She’s a cat on a mission…

Only two years old, Cat is tired of being sent to stay with humans who don’t appreciate her. She escapes the latest mismatch, deciding this time she’ll choose who she stays with, not the other way round. But finding the perfect home is more dangerous than she thought, and for Cat, food and shelter are no longer enough. They must worship her.

Excerpt:

A new sound interrupted Cat’s thoughts. She turned her head and spotted a cat prancing toward her. A female, Cat could tell right away. Her face was white and her body striped. Her eyes, outlined in black, looked funny. They popped out the way some dogs’ eyes did and they made her look like she wanted to eat any animal that got in her way.

And her gaze remained on Cat as she continued to stalk forward.

A sour scent came to Cat, and the fur along her spine rose. She got to her feet, not taking her gaze off the other cat with the bad scent. A fighting scent.

The smell twisted Cat’s stomach and gave her the feeling that in another moment she was going to puke.

The woman’s car started and drove off. Cat felt someone’s stare on her, coming from another direction. She flicked her gaze to Pastor Jim. He was watching her with a smile.

“A cat,” he murmured and his gaze shifted to the other cat. “Lucy, look what’s here for you. A playmate.” He laughed, a smooth sound like a snake sliding through the grass.

More fur on Cat’s back bristled. Even with her injured hip, she could outrun any human. Pastor Jim wasn’t a danger to her now. But the other cat…

Her gaze flicked back to the cat. Its sides were wider now. The cat had expanded her frame and fluffed her fur, making herself look bigger.

Cat hissed, telling her to watch out. The other cat growled. Like a dog. It looked part dog with its ugly whitish face. Not the face of a dog she’d like to curl up against either.

The dog this cat resembled would eat kittens for breakfast.

And it kept advancing.

Though the other cat was bigger and weighed more, Cat was young and she was fast — normally. But not with her injured hip. And because of her hip, she knew she couldn’t fight this cat and win.

Cat’s heart thundered inside her chest. Around her all was silent. Not even a bird chirped or a dog twitched. The other cat just kept walking toward Cat while Pastor Jim watched with that same gloating smile.

A tightness twisted Cat’s stomach, then slithered up her chest and around her throat. She wanted to puke. She’d been in a couple fights and had never run from another cat. She wasn’t running from this one either. Not because she was afraid of looking bad. But if she turned her back on this cat, she knew the other cat would pounce on her and hurt her anyway.

The cat reached the bench, and Pastor Jim leaned down. “Go, Lucy. Go.”

The cat’s whiskers twitched, testing the air to see which way to move. Her muscles bunched as she prepared to spring.

Cat’s did the same. Maybe her back legs weren’t as quick as usual, but her front legs could lash out like lightning.

The cat leapt at her, but when Cat pushed up with her back legs, the injured one crumpled. She yowled. As she shifted her weight onto the good leg, the other cat landed on her back. Cat tried to rear up but her leg hurt too badly to put weight on it.

The other cat yowled, claiming victory. Then its claws lashed at Cat’s ear, ripping it.

Pain flamed through Cat, worse than the pain in her hip. She cried out and rolled away, knocking the other cat off her.

Everything hurt. Cat used her pain to push up to her feet. Used it to jump on the ugly cat. To land on top of her. The other cat twisted to put Cat beneath her.

Though Cat’s ear and hip throbbed with a horrible ache, she resisted. There was something wrong with this other cat. Wrong in its mind. It didn’t want to hurt her a little and drive her away. It wanted to hurt her badly. So badly Cat would never be the same again.

Cat’s stomach was twisting again, but she concentrated on defending herself. She opened her mouth and gave a war cry. Ready to battle, she pushed up with her back legs.

Her sense that it was either kill or be killed lent Cat extra power, and she leapt high. Higher than the older and heavier cat could leap. Instead of trying to jump, the other cat sat up and raised its paw, ready to swipe at Cat on her way down. Though Cat’s reach was shorter, she readied her body to claw the other cat.

“Go, Lucy,” Pastor Jim called, his tone gleeful, sounding like a crow calling other vultures to a road kill. “Go.”

Lucy growled again and Cat’s stomach twisted harder.

And that’s when it happened.

She threw up. The chicken, the fish, the cat food, the water. Everything she had in her stomach emptied out and poured onto the ugly cat’s surprised face.

STARDUST MIRACLE will be out next week. MIRACLE LANE will be out in July. I’m loving this series so far.

This is a wonderful start to June for me. How is your June looking?

Shucking corn – clean and easy

Love corn? Hate to shuck those little silk strands? Me too! A grocery store was selling some nice juicy big corns near us. I make two yesterday for dinner, just like the video, and it works! I wish I’d known how to do this years ago. Enjoy!

STARDUST MIRACLE – sneak peek with excerpt!

I love the cover for STARDUST MIRACLE. Thanks again to the fabulous Laura Morrigan. The book is finished but I’m waiting for my editor to go over it. In a few weeks, it should be published. This is the first book of my new Miracle Interrupted series, set in a small village in northern Wisconsin. The stories are contemporary with magical elements. Here’s the cover, the blurb and an excerpt. I hope you enjoy this!

A miracle is going to happen…

Becky Diedrich is the cheesemaker’s daughter.

The minister’s wife.

The good sister.

What she’s not is her own woman.

What she can’t be is a mother.

And then she catches her husband with another woman.

And she moves in with her sister.

And she starts to see sparkles.

And this is just the beginning…

Excerpt:

Becky ran across the grass and laughed at her brashness. She wore her tan trench coat – her church coat – over her red negligee. Tonight she felt free. With a sexual appetite and playfulness she hadn’t felt for a long time.

She couldn’t swear that what she planned had never happened in the church, people being what they were. But it had never happened in the church before with her and Jim.

Laughter spilled out of her mouth again, and only stopped because she was breathless from an overload of excitement. The need to experience something more with her husband had been building inside her for a long time. Now it was finally boiling over – leaving her lightheaded and unlike her usual self.

She liked these feelings. Liked this side of her a lot.

Something happened to her tonight when she’d stepped out of the car and looked up at the stars. For so long, she’d been carrying a dark weight around with her. Going through the days and nights trying to say and do all the right things, when inside something had felt all wrong.

She’d lost the joy of life. Not fully living…just going through the motions. At only thirty-six, she’d felt old and dried up.

Now she felt young again. Free.

Jim wouldn’t know what happened to his proper wife.

She reached the church’s back door, using it instead of the front doors because she didn’t want anyone passing by to see her. Not that there was anything wrong with going to see Jim. But if anyone mentioned her late night visit, her face would probably turn the color of a ripe tomato and give away what they’d done.

She slipped the key into the lock but it turned easily. She stepped inside. Jim must’ve come in this way and forgotten to lock the door behind him. He was always preoccupied with his work and his parishioners.

She admired that. She did. But once in a while, she wanted his mind, plus a few body parts, to be on her.

And not just when her body temperature was right.

She started toward Jim’s office, and her heels clicked on the linoleum floor. Laughing under her breath, she stopped and took them off. She wanted to surprise Jim with a good surprise. No. A wonderful surprise.

His door was closed. Habit, she supposed, since no one was here except him. She heard him speaking. Couldn’t make out the words. Just his voice. Probably saying lines from the sermon he was preparing. Then his voice stopped, and she imagined him frowning at his computer screen while he wrote the next line.

She started to undo the buttons of her coat, then decided it would be sexier to do it inside with him watching. Kind of like a stripper.

Stifling a giggle, she turned the handle and threw open the door.

“Surprise!”

Party time!

Tomorrow (Tuesday), I'll be at Barbara Vey's Reader Appreciation Luncheon in southeastern Wisconsin. After that, I'm off to the RT Booklovers Convention in Chicago. It should be a blast, but I still plan on working in the mornings. I'm publishing a novella and a book for my new series in May. The series is called Miracle Interrupted. The novella is titled MUST WORSHIP CATS. I haven't settled on a title for the book yet, but I'm taking suggestions on my blog at Magical Musings.

If you're there, look for a very short woman with brown hair, and it might be me. Come up and say hi. It's supposed to be a real party con. I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of writers and readers. I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of people I've known online. Even if you don't go, I hope you'll have a wonderful time.